Leo opened his eyes and took a deep breath. “Finally, I’ve reached the Void Refining Realm!” he exhaled with exhaustion.
Years of relentless effort, aided by his powerful summons, had finally brought him to this significant milestone. Now, at the Void Refining Realm, his longevity would be extended immensely, relieving him of any worry about succumbing to old age. With time on his side, there was little doubt that he could ascend to a higher world long before his natural lifespan ended.
However, just as Leo broke through, an unsettling phenomenon occurred. The world around him seemed to freeze, as if time itself had stopped. Everything began to dissolve into a gray liquid that flowed like water, shifting and consuming the landscape.
…
An unknowable period passed in darkness and silence. Gradually, the gray liquid spread across a boundless space, covering everything. It began creating universes, crafting the laws of reality, and setting universal principles into motion. Worlds and entire universes that had once been destroyed were now recreated, reborn from this mysterious substance.
…
Leo stood up, oblivious to the cosmic events that had just transpired. From his perspective, nothing unusual had happened; reality seemed exactly as it had been before his breakthrough. In fact, even beings at Rank 14—the highest known level of power below Rank 15—would have been unable to detect any abnormality. Compared to the presence behind this event, even the strongest entities seemed as fragile as dreams, nothing more than illusions.
In the hierarchy of power, Rank 14 beings could only access a limited flow of origin energy. They could manipulate it to an extent, but they were nowhere near mastering its full potential. However, for a quasi-Rank 15 being—a step beyond Rank 14—manipulating or even annihilating Rank 14 entities would be almost effortless.
Yet, there was an intriguing exception. Rachel, a quasi Rank 15, possessed a unique relationship with the gray energy. Although she could easily eliminate or imprison Rank 14 entities dependent on her gray realm, she had no authority over Rank 14 beings who relied solely on the Creation itself. Her control was limited to those connected to her Tiny Gray Domain—her own self-contained gray infinite domain and the big gray realm, over which she had indirect control.
Because none of the Rank 14 entities relied on her Tiny Gray Domain, they weren't affected by the change. Now, within this gray domain, there are no Rank 14 beings. She could, if she chose, allow some to reach Rank 14 by relying on her infinite domain, but that was a decision for the future.
Rachel briefly considered replicating powerful Rank 14 figures, like Office and Alive, and allowing them to draw from her Tiny Gray Domain as a source of power. However, she decided against it, opting for a clean slate in her gray realm instead.
As for the lower beings, she decided to recreate them. After all, with her virtually infinite energy and space, there was no reason to prevent them from reappearing in their former forms. Her Tiny Gray Domain had expanded to encompass every possible reality. All timelines—past, present, and future—coexisted within her realm, making her omniscient within its confines. The sensation of knowing everything within her domain was exhilarating, a new and pleasurable experience.
The only knowledge hidden from her were extremely sensitive matters deliberately concealed by Luther. Aside from these rare exceptions, she possessed awareness of nearly all else.
An infinite domain holds all answers; however, Rachel still faces the challenge of locating those answers amidst its vastness. Luther, with his mastery over countless omniscient-level masteries, has expertly concealed all traces and clues, making it nearly impossible for Rachel to uncover many truths. Because she cannot reach the level of Creation Omniscience, she is unlikely ever to discover all the answers she seeks—especially if Luther continues to obstruct her path to understanding.
Meanwhile, Leo, oblivious to these cosmic struggles, found himself disoriented. “Where is the system?” he wondered, alarmed. The familiar system interface that had guided him for so long had vanished.
“System?” he called out again, hoping it was merely a temporary glitch. But there was only silence.
“Something’s wrong,” he thought, anxiety creeping into his mind. Without the system, he would be at a severe disadvantage, facing a much harder journey in the future.
Suddenly, a furious voice roared nearby, breaking his train of thought.
“You bastard!”
Leo recognized the voice instantly, though it sounded different. “Wang Xuanwei?” he thought, baffled. The voice was unmistakably male, which meant Wang Xuanwei had reverted to his original form as an elderly man without permission.
“Wang Xuanwei, how dare you? Change back immediately!” Leo commanded, trying to reassert his usual authority.
“Why did I obey you for so long?” Wang Xuanwei spat. His voice dripped with contempt, and with a single wave of his hand, he suppressed Leo’s cultivation power. As a half-step Celestial Ascension Realm cultivator, Wang Xuanwei’s strength vastly eclipsed Leo’s newly attained Void Refining Realm. Leo was powerless against him.
“What’s happening?” Leo wondered, the reality dawning on him. The summons had always obeyed him without question, but now, without the system, they had turned against him. “Could it be… that the reason they listened was only because of the system’s influence?” A chill ran down his spine as he imagined the retribution Wang Xuanwei and the other summons might exact upon him.
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“Wait, Wang Xuanwei, it was a mutual, consensual relationship! Why are you doing this?” Leo shouted, hoping to calm his former subordinate.
Wang Xuanwei’s face twisted with disgust. Just the thought of the humiliating acts he had endured made his anger flare. He was an old-fashioned man, upholding traditions and principles with rigid adherence. There was no way he would have willingly agreed to such degradation without outside influence. “No question about it,” he thought bitterly. “This must have been some kind of mind control.”
“Shut up!” Wang Xuanwei roared, his anger thick in the air as he increased the pressure on Leo, sending him to his knees. Leo’s ears, nose, and even his eyes began to bleed under the crushing force. The weight of a half-step Celestial Ascension Realm cultivator’s aura was so overwhelming that he couldn’t even open his mouth to plead.
“You have the thickest skin of any man I’ve ever met,” Wang Xuanwei sneered. “After what you did to us, you still have the audacity to claim it was consensual? Tell me—what sort of mind control did you use? What vile equipment enabled you to manipulate us?” He eased the pressure slightly, enough to let Leo catch his breath and respond.
Leo’s mind raced as he tried to buy time. In truth, he had long harbored doubts about the system’s nature, its origins, and its motives. But never had he imagined it would simply vanish, leaving him so vulnerable. Now, he cursed himself for placing so much trust in an unknown entity.
“But why didn’t this ever happen to the protagonists in my previous life?” Leo thought, recalling the countless stories where systems remained loyal, reliable, and invincible. “Why didn’t their systems disappear at a critical moment like mine did?”
In his previous life, Leo had always seen a protagonist’s system as the most reliable and trusted ally. In every novel he’d read, the protagonist’s system never disappeared without a reason—it was a constant, a partner that never failed. So how could his system vanish now, when he needed it most?
Seeing Leo’s silence, Wang Xuanwei’s impatience grew, and he increased the pressure on Leo’s body.
“Argh! Alright, I’ll tell you everything!” Leo shouted, his voice filled with desperation. Without the system, he had nothing left—no power, no control, no hope of anyone coming to his aid. He could only surrender, confess, and hope that some mercy remained in Wang Xuanwei’s heart.
Satisfied for the moment, Wang Xuanwei eased the pressure. Unfortunately, because of the world’s limitations, he could only use the power of a half-step Celestial Ascension cultivator here. If not for this restriction, he would have stripped Leo’s soul from his body and searched it without hesitation. But since both of them existed within the Void Refining Realm boundary—Leo at the initial stage and Wang Xuanwei at the peak, just a step away from Celestial Ascension—soul-searching would be risky. To perform a soul-searching spell safely, the caster needed to be at least two full realms above their target; otherwise, it could cause severe damage to both souls.
For now, Wang Xuanwei wasn’t willing to risk his own soul on this man. Torture, he reasoned, would work just as well.
Leo, now gasping for breath, began to speak. “I… I had a system. The system allowed me to summon you and control you. It’s not my fault—it was all because of the system!”
Wang Xuanwei’s eyes narrowed, his skepticism apparent. “What system?” he demanded, his tone thick with suspicion.
“I… I’m the protagonist of this world,” Leo stammered. “The system is my cheat ability, like in the stories! It’s the special power given to a protagonist!”
Wang Xuanwei’s expression turned from fury to outright disdain, and he rolled his eyes. “Do you think I’m a fool?” he spat, increasing the pressure tenfold.
“Aargh!” Leo collapsed to the ground again, his body flattened under the invisible weight. It felt as if an entire planet were pressing down on him, crushing his bones and making it impossible to move. Not even his enhanced physique could withstand the overwhelming force.
After a prolonged silence, Wang Xuanwei finally released the pressure, allowing Leo a moment to catch his breath.
“Speak!” Wang Xuanwei ordered, his voice cold and unyielding.
“Please,” Leo gasped, his tone pleading. “You have to believe me! The system was what let me control you. The only reason you can act independently now is because… because the system disappeared!”
Wang Xuanwei’s gaze was hard, but a trace of consideration flickered in his eyes. “And where,” he asked slowly, “did this system go?”
For the first time, Wang Xuanwei seemed to consider that there might be some truth to Leo’s story.
“I don’t know!” Leo cried, desperation thick in his voice. “I wish I knew!”
But Wang Xuanwei’s patience had run out. Without a word, he increased the pressure again, and Leo’s entire body felt as if it were being crushed under the weight of the world. It was unbearable; Leo couldn’t even manage a scream, his voice choked off by the overwhelming force. He could only endure the agony in silence, unable to move or cry out.
After a few agonizing moments, Wang Xuanwei relented, easing the pressure once more. “Talk,” he commanded, his tone cold and unyielding.
“If… if I die, the system will explode!” Leo blurted out, his words laced with desperation. “And when it does, you and all the other summons will die along with it!”
Wang Xuanwei paused, narrowing his eyes as he weighed Leo’s words. It was possible Leo was lying, but the risk was too great to ignore. After a moment’s consideration, he decided it was best to keep Leo alive for now. Once they returned to the Immortal World, he would conduct a soul search on Leo—where he could safely dig out the truth.
“Then our next step is clear,” Wang Xuanwei muttered to himself. “Let’s find the other summons first. Together, we’ll return to the Immortal World and put this wretch through a proper soul search there.” Wang Xuanwei’s true realm was the Ethereal Mastery Realm, three full realms above Void Refining. Once in the Immortal World, he could easily break Leo’s soul and uncover whatever secrets he was hiding.
But before leaving, he intended to gather every summoned being. Returning to this realm would be difficult later, and he knew they’d need allies for the challenges ahead. Among them, there was one summon Wang Xuanwei especially wanted on his side: Wu Jian.
Wu Jian was at the peak of the Ultimate Convergence Realm— four entire realms above Void Refining. Although there was technically only one realm between Ethereal Mastery and Ultimate Convergence, in practice, it was like the difference between heaven and earth. Wang Xuanwei knew he might never reach that level himself, and having Wu Jian as a backer would be invaluable.
He also felt that he might have a chance at forming a real alliance with Wu Jian. They had both suffered under Leo’s control, sharing countless dark moments of forced servitude.
With a plan forming, Wang Xuanwei gave Leo one last hard look, his gaze filled with barely concealed disgust. “We’ll find the others,” he said, his tone final. “And once we’re back in the Immortal World, you’ll pay for what you did.”